Record

The nomenclature of LUT and its associated companies is confusing. London United Tramways Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1894, taking over the assets of West Metropolitan Tramways. It was initially equipped with horse-drawn trams, but GW and JCR introduced electric tram cars which bore the legend 'London United Electric Tramways' (LUET), although this never became the company's legal title. GW and JCR subsequently decided that LUT should venture into underground railways, and the London United Electric Railways Co. (LUER) was incorporated in 1901. In 1902, a Bill was brought before Parliament to empower it to acquire land, build railways, and make agreements with LUT. (It was one of 26 tube railway proposals considered by Parliament in the 1902 Session.) An alliance was struck between LUER and a syndicate backed by John Pierpoint Morgan, and clashed with the Underground Electric Railways of London (UERL), a rival group led by Charles Tyson Yerkes and Speyer Brothers. However, George White was uneasy about an alliance with Morgans, which would have been dominated by the American partners, and in 1902 he sold his controlling interest in LUT and LUER to Speyer Brothers. C.T. Yerkes replaced GW as chairman of LUT, which had become London United Tramways (1901) Ltd. GW played no further part in the development of London's trams and tube railways, although JCR remained as managing director and engineer of LUT, and joined the board of the Metropolitan District Railway Co. (MDRC). Many of the LUT papers, and those of similar and/or related companies, appear to be JCR's personal copies in his capacity as managing director and engineer. They are incomplete, and their arrangement is haphazard, especially where parcels had broken.

Level

Group

Access status

Open

Related material

See Bk/2187 and Bk/2191 for two volumes on the history of the London United Tramways by CS Smeeton